New Avengers 25

New Avengers 25

After the first two issues of EIGHT MONTHS LATER (I keep writing and/or wanting to write TIME RUNS OUT but I think that's AFTER all this business?) in NEW AVENGERS 24 and AVENGERS 35 (and 36, but that doesn't apply here), we've seen what some of the Illuminati and their new associates are up to, with Amadeus Cho getting captured by the Avengers and SHIELD trying to salvage Stark files, and Black Panther forced to watch as Wakanda falls to the Cabal. Now we see what Beast, Reed Richards, Hulk (DOC GREEN), and Captain Britain are doing these days. Mostly they're trying to figure out what the Avengers are doing and what the Cabal is doing and how the planets are doing and so on and so forth. Things aren't going great. The book ends after the team checks in on the captured and interrogated (by Sue Storm) Amadeus Cho and Black Panther returns, proclaiming that Wakanda has fallen.

There's still a good deal of useful information here but it's on a backdrop of events we've seen already, so most of this issue is soft science and reactions to the things we've seen. Again, that's not to say this isn't still a useful and/or important issue, but it almost serves more to catch readers up on what's been happening since this new event started. Hickman tends to take opportunities like this to give us a sense of the current tone and a little bit more on the characters and I think he does that well here, letting us see Reed's reaction to Sue's pursuit of his team and him specifically and building up the characters of people like Amadeus Cho and Captain Britain. Hickman also does a good job of highlighting while not hitting us over the head with the absences of some major characters in this future. I've had some issues with Kev Walker on some of the NEW AVENGERS art that he's done prior to this but I think he handles this issue admirably. If you're looking to save a bit of money this month and you've read the first couple issues of this mini-event so far, you can probably skip this one without missing too much.

Total Score: 3/5

Comics this week

Tons of books out this week. How much is there to love? I mean, not as much of a ton. But certainly some! Let's talk about it.

Daredevil 9
As anyone who's read this blog knows, I'm pretty into this DAREDEVIL run by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. The last issue set up the newest arc for this team (now joined by colorist extraordinaire Matt Wilson), an arc that will pit Daredevil against the evil children of the recently hit-by-a-bus Purple Man. Creepy, creepy stuff almost definitely coming.

Death of Wolverine 4
As I've intimated the last couple reviews that have connected to DEATH OF WOLVERINE, this series has suffered a couple of delays that have made the tie-ins a little less effective. The upside is that this series has been a fairly strong (and, perhaps more excitingly, quick) little event. It's clearly a big shift for the Marvel Universe as key character since his inception Wolverine will, if the title is to be believed, die. So goodnight, sweet prince. Hopefully your death will at least settle out some of these tie-ins.

Ms. Marvel 9
Just a fantastic book. I really can't stop raving about it in my every day life. I wish someone would help me because it's starting to really impact my relationships negatively. But I don't want this book to be less good, so I suppose it's a push.

New Avengers 25
We're eight months in the future and Black Panther is having a tough time. It's never easy to watch Black Panther having a tough time. We're lucky because he so rarely is. That dude knows what's up, like, all the time. But now eight months have passed and NONE of us really know what's up. All we know is that the Cabal is BAD NEWS BEARS and it's going to be quite the fight to stop them. That fight isn't made easier by the fact that the regular type Avengers are none too pleased with the Illuminati. So much happening in this series that has been so reliably good since it started.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 16
It came down, at the end, to voting for SUPERIOR FOES or voting for AXIS as the final book to recommend this week and AXIS left a bad taste in my mouth last week whereas SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN has not disappointed me yet. Or at least since the start of the series. That was like, a year ago, I can't be expected to remember that far back. Anyway, check out this series before it leaves us.

New Avengers 24, Mighty Avengers 14, Secret Avengers 8

New Avengers 24

We're eight months in the future and Namor comes to Doom for help getting rid of his cabal, who he has realized are maybe a little too violent and bloodthirsty for his liking, and for help with the incursions. Doom provides neither, resentful that he is Namor's second choice. Meanwhile, Black Panther and Shuri use the distraction of another incursion to attempt to steal back all the anti-matter bombs housed in Wakanda, currently occupied by the Cabal, but find themselves facing Maximus and Proxima Midnight, left behind to guard. They barely escape and Black Panther teleports back to the Illuminati but Shuri chooses to stay behind and fight for Wakanda. Back in Latveria, Doom explains to Kristoff that he didn't accept Namor's offer because it's clear he understands more of what's going on than Namor does, so he wouldn't benefit from an alliance. Instead, the Mad Thinker has been working for Doom to study the piece of a world the Mapmakers left behind and finally Thinker has used it to map out all of the marked worlds and to trace it back to its originator, the person behind all this. Doom intends to turn the tables on this person, hoping to use the Molecule Man to strike back at the incursions.

As with AVENGERS, this book has leapt eight months into the future and now has 30+ pages to get us somewhat caught up on the state of the world. Also like AVENGERS, it does a pretty good job of it. Hickman delicately balances things we need to know now with things that can wait, meaning that we largely get good explanation without over-exposition. We also get a glimpse at what the Cabal is doing to other worlds, annihilating their people and relishing the opportunity to destroy their incurring worlds. Where everything seemed slightly askew and mildly threatening in AVENGERS, everything in this book seems horrible, like every plan ever devised has gone wrong,w which seems to be Hickman's intent. Valerio Schiti does an excellent job on the art front and overall it's an engaging and exciting finished project. NEW AVENGERS brings the last two years of stories to a head masterfully, never hand-holding and never over-explaining, illustrating a world that came about naturally well down the line.

Total Score: 5/5


Mighty Avengers 14

The Deathwalker Prime begins to transmit nightmares to every living being on the planet, causing everyone to kneel to it, but Luke Cage stands against the nightmares, fighting back and ultimately securing the ceremonial goblet in which the blood was combined and passing it on to a similarly breaking-free Kaluu, who manages to use the goblet himself to create the Avenger Prime, a mighty being with the combined strengths of the entire Mighty Avengers (except for Cage, who remains out of it) and which manages to defeat the Deathwalker Prime, freeing everyone on Earth. Cage destroys the goblet and the team decides to take a little vacation, primed to return in CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS.

It's a pretty strong ending to a book I mostly found middling. Most of my problems with the book have been tonal dissonance or inside jokes or whatever you'd call the captions strewn about the book and that sort of thing kind of continues here but mostly reins it in to let the story and the characters do the talking. When the book got out of its own way, I liked it more. As with my feelings toward SECRET AVENGERS (we'll get to that), it's entirely possible those captions and other little bits strewn here and there appealed to a great number of people. They weren't my thing and they got int he way of the book for me, taking what could have been a personal and strong tone and muddying it with a need for forced laughs. Still, that's more a critique of the series and less a critique of this issue, which remains rather strong, though I have little connection to the main villain so it's a little difficult to feel the weight of the story. Ewing does what he can by showing that the entire planet is affected by the attack but it's a global threat that feels like it came out of nowhere, so its actual threat-level is hard to take seriously (okay, it's comics, seriously is CLEARLY "comics seriously" here). Kind of nitpicky but you have to believe the villains just as much as you believe the heroes. Still a good book.

Total Score: 4/5


Secret Avengers 8

Maria Hill believes that MODOK is behind everything and explains, bit by bit, why to Spider-Woman, who has more questions than answers. We also flash back to various points in the last eight months or so to see MODOK working with head scientist Snapper to plan their allegiance switch to SHIELD and to quickly rise through the ranks and take it over from Hill, a plan that is slightly stalled as he reveals by issue's end that he's, in fact, in love with Maria Hill.

Nope, still don't get and/or like this one. It's not helped that one of the key contributors to the series is Maria Hill, who I cannot come around to. Right now, we're talking about a personal, intimate battle of wits between Maria Hill and MODOK and I don't understand who that sentence appeals to.

Total Score: 1/5

Comics this week

Hey dudes, solid 18 books out this week and it shouldn't really be a struggle to pick out five I want to highlight but it sure was looking that way on the top half of the alphabetical list. Also, I'm watching that new Gotham TV show right now and it kicked off pretty dark, you guys! This married couple got murdered in the first like, two minutes! Weird way to start things, I bet nothing comes of it.

Edge of Spider-Verse 3
There's a lot of fun stuff happening in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE so far, though this certainly makes it to the list thanks to a slow release week. It's been strong, though I expect it's hit-or-miss with how interesting these new spiders are.

New Avengers 24
It's another 4.99 book in another extra-sized issue (like AVENGERS last week) as Hickman moves NEW AVENGERS into TIME RUNS OUT, starting our story eight months after the events of the last issue. Though I'm wary of $4.99 books, I can't say I'm not interested in seeing this one. AVENGERS was solid last week and this book should give us the other side of the story. Looking forward to it.

New Warriors 10
Have I told you guys I'm really enjoying this book (though it's just about over at this point)? Just kidding, you guys, I know I have. Check it out while you still can.

Storm 3
I liked the first issue a good deal and the second issue had some positives to it. I think that Greg Pak's a strong writer and he very clearly has some thoughts about Storm as a character. Still, this book certainly gets the benefit of a slow release week to make this list.

Thunderbolts 31
I really need to keep a running list of when books are set to end. I THINK this book runs through issue 32 (or is it 33?). Either way, we're closing in on the end of the series and I'm sad to see it go. I also just caught up on a string of really good "Thrilling Adventure Hours" so I'm even more sad that Acker and Blacker will be Marvel homeless at the conclusion of this book (hopefully they'll find something soon).

New Avengers 23, Mighty Avengers 12, Secret Avengers 7

New Avengers 23
Hickman (w) and K. Walker (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

The next incursion is coming and the Illuminati agree that they can't go through with destroying another world so they resign themselves to their fate instead. As each member of the team consoles themselves as best they can, spending their final moments with loved ones, letting off steam, or pondering, the clock ticks down. Finally the moment of incursion comes...and goes. They reconvene to ask what happened, happy that the universe isn't destroyed but worried they may have gotten some calculation wrong and subsequently have already destroyed a world for nothing. Black Bolt realizes, though, that Namor didn't show up for their meeting and the truth dawns on them, though maybe not the extent of their troubles. Namor has formed the Cabal, consisting of him, Maximus, Black Swan, Thanos, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Terrax, to do what the Illuminati cannot.

Rather a nice issue as Hickman has the team take a step back and analyze what's important to each of them. We see Black Panther returning to Storm (they have a tryst but she calls it a mistake, even as he admits that his only thoughts as the world is about to die were of her), Banner drinking to the thought of his final moments with Hulk, Tony pouring but ultimately turning down a row of shots, and Reed visiting his entire, spread-out family, among other moments. It's a simplistic but very nice idea, watching the heroes resign themselves to going out with a whimper and not a bang, as most superheroes tend to do. The introduction of the Cabal, too, is very interesting and certainly worthy of a gasp as we get the reveal. I think Walker's art is better here than the last one, which relied so much on serious fighting and screaming, but I still think it's wrong for this book, though Martin's colors help ease it on its way.

Total Score: 4/5


Mighty Avengers 12
Ewing (w) and Larroca (a) and Milla (c) and Petit (l)

The Deathwalkers have drained enough out of Blade to start their ritual, though they're interrupted when he breaks free and comes after them. His breaking free also allows Power Man to find Blade's chi in the city, with help from a powerful speech by Cage's father, and direct the Mighty Avengers plus Kaluu and Constance Molina to his side. They fight a bunch of Ani-Men and try to attack the four Deathwalkers destined to divvy up the Earth but aren't able to get to them before they can finish their ritual, which bonds the four into one who is surely destined to take over the world. I mean, nothing can probably stop something that powerful, right?

Man, leave it to a regular, unpowered human to lecture about the difference a regular person can make and then to be left behind by the superpowers because he's old and would probably just die anyway. But we can agree, he'd probably die, right? Anyway, that's what happens to Cage's dad here but he does get to meet little Danielle while the adults go attack. Also interesting: Spitfire and Blade are apparently together. Did not know that, but I'm a Spitfire fan and I guess I can see that, though I'm sad she doesn't seem to be rushing to the rescue on this occasion. STILL, not an awful issue, though I still think the tone could use a bit of regulation here, choosing whether it should be fun or tough or maybe if the heroes should just focus on the potential world-ending fight instead of idle chit-chat at times. Not bad, though.

Total Score: 4/5


Secret Avengers 7
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

Black Widow has traveled through a black hole, Fury is still in a coma, Maria Hill admits to Spider-Woman, who is having something of a bad day herself, that MODOK is on the team, Coulson is tracking mysterious leads, and Hawkeye has been brought in by Deadpool and a pair of AIM agents and Deadpool has revealed to his new Avenging pal that they're in a comic book. Lots of fourth wall breaking here and very explicit about it. The issue ends as Hill reveals to Spider-Woman about MODOK and reveals that she has reasons.

Little inside baseball here: I read and reviewed NEW AVENGERS pretty immediately, then read MIGHTY AVENGERS, SECRET AVENGERS, and a handful of other books (the ones most likely to get extended reviews this week), then I reviewed MIGHTY AVENGERS, then I showered and praised myself for my ability to keep the above two reviews pretty tight and decided if I could do that with SECRET AVENGERS, I really ought to be proud. Fortunately, I reasoned, that wouldn't be too hard since I have no idea what's happening in this book and the Deadpool explicit fourth wall breaking really tends to take me out of it. I don't mind slight nods to it here and again in this day and age or full-on reference to it in strange side-books (like the DEADPOOL KILLS- series), but I don't think it really fits into current Marvel continuity and I think, therefore, it's very strange here just as I think the overall tone of this book is very strange. BUT HERE'S THE THING, MY FRIENDS: I'm accepting it really well today. Can't promise next time won't be worse (though I've gotten better with this book each issue, I think), but it's hard not to think that maybe, just MAYBE, every book shouldn't be for me. Presumably if every book were for me I'd be incredibly happy but plenty of people (probably people I wouldn't get along with but PEOPLE NONETHELESS) wouldn't be reading comics. So this issue, and probably this series, isn't for me. And that's fine.

Total Score: 2/5*

*But, as with most other scores, that's just what I think and...actually, there's no way to finish this thought without implicitly recommending you stop reading this blog so NEVER MIND, WHAT I THINK IS BEST.

Comics this week

Hey all my buddies! I'm writing this away from the list of comics out this week so let's take an adventure and guess at what books (and what specific number issues) are out this week!

Daredevil 7(? 6? I think 7)

I'll level with you, I didn't remember what had happened last issue until I started writing this sentence (which called for tense changes, though now I'm convinced it's issue 7). I just trusted that I wanted to read a new DAREDEVIL. And I do. The ORIGINAL SIN tie-in may not be my favorite thing in Marvel currently but this series has proven itself reliably good and the story is certainly strong enough to warrant checking this one out. Also, are these Javier Rodriguez pencils? With Matt Wilson taking over coloring duties, this may be the last time we see Rodriguez on this title, where he's been excellent. So check him out in his last hurrah, unless I'm wrong and he's not drawing this one. Then just check it out for another reason.

Elektra 5 (pretty sure that's what I wrote down yesterday, I suppose it could be 6. Feels too well-developed for just four issues right now)

It's hard to overstate how onboard with this book I am right now. Really interesting concept and story propped up by some great character work and phenomenal artwork. I'm very impressed with what this book has shown so far and I'm looking forward to it with every new release.

Ms. Marvel 7

I feel I haven't highlighted MS. MARVEL enough, giving more attention to other phenomenal books out at the same time. Well take note, friends, I'm highlighting it here. Really fun book, really great characters all around, and currently a delightful team-up with Wolverine to enjoy. Check it out.

New Avengers 23

Another incursion! A falling out between the Illuminati! Fights! Failures! Follow-ups! Figureheads! Fun!

Nova 20

Real talk: I have no idea what else is out this week worthy of consideration so NOVA gets a bit of a cheat-win. It's not that much of one, though, as I've really liked this series overall and do find myself looking forward to the newest issues when they drop, so it's not not-worthy, it just may be less worthy than something else out there this week. Maybe ORIGINAL SINS if just for the Chip Zdarsky short story in this week's issue? Look, NOVA's a good book, check it out.

New Avengers 22

New Avengers 22
Hickman (w) and K. Walker (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Illuminati have done the unthinkable as Namor has used their bomb to destroy and incurring Earth. They take a moment to examine the men they've become with Namor as unsympathetic and cold as ever, which sends Black Panther into a rage over the decision Namor made and therefore took from him. The two fight hand-to-hand before Reed pulls them apart but Namor then reveals that he had sold Wakanda out to Thanos, leading to another rage from T'Challa, only stopped when the Hulk separates them. The team heads in its separate directions but they'll be pulled together sooner rather than later as another incursion is coming in just under eight hours.

The fight we've been waiting for between Black Panther and Namor has finally come as Panther reels from his very recent disowning and the bomb going off in the hands of his new sworn enemy. Unfortunately, it maybe falls a little flat at the hands of Kev Walker, who I typically like well enough and have really liked on AVENGERS ARENA and AVENGERS UNDERCOVER. I don't know, maybe it's that this book has set itself up as something so grand and cinematic and Walker's style doesn't really carry the sort of weight that original series artist Steve Epting established as the norm. So instead, the art becomes almost a distraction. Still, the issue is big for the book as the terms of what they're doing have changed a bit with the first actual instance of destroying a thriving world. I also appreciate Hickman's built-in tension builder (used a-plenty in this series already) of showing that an incursion is once again coming to end an issue.

Total Score: 3/5

Comics this week

Lot of intriguing books out there this week. On the other hand, I'm probably just going to mostly pick books you're expecting me to pick? So, not so much intriguing here as "predictable." Look, these things happen. Maybe Marvel should release its intriguing books on weeks where fewer sure-thing books are coming out?

Black Widow 9
Great book all the time and it got an added boost of heart last time with Winter Soldier's inclusion. This one will crossover with this week's PUNISHER 9 as well. Expect a pretty fun one, particularly as both books are helmed by writer Nathan Edmondson, who has added life to both series.

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 5
Guys, do I have to cover why I like this book even more? There's a lot to like here and it's certainly worth a look if you somehow haven't looked yet, if just to see how the book plays. Lots of neat things, though maybe not quite as neat and predictably great as...

Moon Knight 6
Very sadly, this is the final issue for Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey, who have really killed it on this book, completely redefining Moon Knight and blowing away readers at every turn. They've made this series, in just five issues, one of this best Marvel has in a lineup replete with good books. I don't want to write off the series when Ellis and Shalvey leave as Brian Wood will take over as series writer and I quite like Wood's work, not to mention that colorist Jordie Bellaire will stay on, which is certainly a win. Still, this will be the final issue for Ellis and Shalvey (who, excitingly, will team together again on Image's INJECTION, along with Bellaire) and I insist you read this book.

New Avengers 22
Back-to-back release weeks for NEW AVENGERS and I can't help but choose this book, which I've loved overall and whose last issue I particularly loved. Excellent work last week as we see a depth of character to Black Panther that Hickman had kind of danced around, particularly because Panther is someone who tends to play things close to the vest. How will the Illuminati react to Namor's ability to do what they could not?

Rocket Raccoon 2
Look, this is why having five books on this pre-game list is sometimes tough. SPIDER-VERSE starts this week with the return of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN, the compelling SHE-HULK is out this week, and the very fun NEW WARRIORS returns this week as well, recently revoking their own Avengers status (well, Justice, as the only Avengers member) to stand for the New Warriors. Instead, though, the pick goes to Skottie Young's already incredibly fun ROCKET RACCOON, which will hopefully get a few more pick-ups in stores this week on the heels of the immensely successful and delightful Guardians of the Galaxy. Not that, if the pre-order numbers were any indication, this book needs a huge pick-up.

Avengers 33, New Avengers 21, Uncanny Avengers 22

Avengers 33
Hickman (w) and Yu (p) and Alanguilan (i) and Gho (c) and Petit (l)

In his continued time-travels, Captain America ends up 50,000 years in the future, where life has been exterminated and the world is run by something called The Worldcore. Spawned out of the death of Ultron, The Worldcore has recently started changing moments in the past despite the Herculean effort it takes. It's also been plagued by time-assassins (timessassins) of a sort (not entirely accurate but I wanted to write "timessassins" so we'll have to just pretend) and is now suspicious of any sort of time traveler. It intends to dissect Cap for further information about him but it finds and accidentally activate the bomb that was put inside him in the past, which targets and destroys The Worldcore. Cap is summoned again by the time gem but things seem a little different and he begins to fall through a crack in time, but he's pulled back by Iron Man, promising him that everything will be all right.

What I like about this time-travel story is that we can pretty clearly see that these futures, at least in some way or another, are connected. Occasionally superheroes will travel into the future and the entire future is fabricated in such a way that you can't really track how you get from one to another. Instead, it's just a cool idea that a writer and/or artist wanted to present. Sometimes, a book will jump so far into the future in one go that it will be kind of irrelevant to whatever story they're telling. This one jumps further and further ahead but shows hints of its interconnectedness, particularly apropos as it seems the time gem is jumping them intentionally to different futures. Still, time-travel like this tends to turn me off a bit, where I'd prefer instead to stay fixed in the present story. As such, the upcoming conclusion is a little more interesting to me as Iron Man and Cap meet again.

Total Score: 4/5


New Avengers 21
Hickman (w) and Schiti w/Larroca (a) and F. Martin w/Mounts (c) and Caramagna (l)

Dr. Strange unleashes his newfound powers, losing control as the monster inside him ages their foes into dust one at a time without mercy and without trouble. Black Panther and Iron Man adjust Tony's repulsors to knock Strange out before the monster can turn on them. Though the heroes of this other Earth are defeated, it still leaves the matter of the bomb and the incurring world. After returning to their own Earth, each man considers detonating the bomb (some longer than others) before Black Panther, urged by the ghosts of his ancestors carried within him, takes it. However, while he holds it, he decides he cannot use, shaming his ancestors who denounce him and disown him as a Black Panther, leaving him. He throws the detonator aside and falls to his knees. As the Illuminati begin to resign themselves to the idea that they won't be able to blow up the other world, home to billions of innocents, Namor takes the detonator and, insulting them all, uses it.

We all knew this day had to come, the day when the Illuminati would be forced to find a solution for an incurring world that was actually heavily populated. And of course, the heroes that represent the team are unable to pull the trigger until Namor proves his usefulness to a team like this. I really like everything about this issue. It's exactly as emotional and passionate as it needs to be without ever going too over-the-top with it. I also really love the focus this issue places on the makeup of this team. There's a scene between Maximus and Black Swan that highlights her penchant for finding the heroes of a world she wishes to save and how this world differs in that she accidentally picked a team full of kings, natural leaders who would do whatever it takes to preserve their kingdoms and who are willing to kill for their people. It's one of the things that draws me to characters like Black Panther, Namor, and Black Bolt and it's been extremely important but rather under the surface so far in this series. Hickman here brings it to the forefront to show how different this situation is from the typical Avengers-esque potential world-ending dilemmas. Really great issue, great job by artist Schiti on the emotions of the issue and the facial expressions of our heroes, which are paramount for an issue like this. Frank Martin also excels but, then, he always does (guys, read EAST OF WEST, it's so good).

Total Score: 5/5


Uncanny Avengers 22
Remender (w) and Acuña (a and c) and Cowles (l)

Kang has begun to drink of the Celestial's blood and his powers have increased an untold amount. Thor, weakened from Kang's immediate betrayal, is struck back down to Earth, leaving only Havok and Sunfire still in the fight against Kang at the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Their only hope is to attempt to absorb the cosmic energy Kang is using but both realize it could mean their own deaths and may still not work. As the only ones available, though (and perhaps the ones most at fault for trusting Kang, particularly Havok), they push forward, only to have Kang immediately stab Sunfire through the chest, disintegrating him instantly. He tells Havok to stop fighting, that it's the only way to see his daughter again, but Havok refuses to believe him. Instead, he turns all of Kang's power back against him in the hopes it will stop the conqueror. He manages to weaken and stall Kang enough to allow Sunfire, imbued with cosmic energy and no longer bound by his old form, appearing now as a figure of all blue and yellow, to rejoin the fight. Together, they force Kang to flee, taking his forces fighting on Earth with him, swearing revenge on humanity and particularly on Alex. The heroes all return to Earth to see the aftermath, including Sentry departing with the body of the Celestial, Wanda restoring all the powers Rogue borrowed to their rightful owners but Wonder Man inexplicably staying behind, and Janet's reaction to her lost daughter. Finally, Horsemen Daken and Grim Reaper emerge from the crashed Apocalypse Ship with the inert bodies of Uriel and Eimin in the Sahara Desert.

Geez, tons going on, which is what you'd expect and probably want from an arc that's lasted the better part of fifteen or so issues. Overall, it's been a really engaging story and this finale, certainly with plenty of questions left to answer and plenty of expectations attached to the finale of such a long story, lived up to it pretty well. All along it's been a full team story and we definitely get a sense of the whole team here and how much it means to everyone and how important a role everyone has played, but it's also felt particularly like an Alex Summers story, as he's been something of a catalyst for the team and certainly been the leader of the team. In that way, Remender makes sure to end things strongly, putting the focus on Havok as AVENGE THE EARTH ends. Strong work and, as ever, really great art out of Daniel Acuña, whose art and colors shine in this issue.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Hey guys, let's get right into it because we have an old favorite finally making a return this week.

Avengers World 10
Still into this book. Everything I said last pre-game holds up. Interested to see where the book goes after last week's cliffhanger. Does it continue to jump from story to story or does it stick with Cannonball and Sunspot in the future? Also, if it's going back to the Falcon story (still not sure), we've heard some big news about Falcon since the release of the last issue, interested to see how his story plays now.

Hawkeye 19
HERE IT IS, you guys, HAWKEYE makes its triumphant return in an issue that promises to be the next dog-issue (referring, of course, to Eisner winning HAWKEYE 11) but this time with sign language. How are the Barton boys doing since we saw them last, several months ago? They've had pretty extreme violence done unto them and now we see where it leads.

New Avengers 21
Still really happy with this book every time it comes out. I'll admit it's faded a bit for me since the first arc or two but it's overall still a really great book. BY THE SAME TOKEN, if someone asked me "hey, what new Jonathan Hickman book should I pick up this week?" I'd say "well that's a specific question but, surprise, it's not one of the two Marvel books he has out this week, NEW AVENGERS or AVENGERS, it's one of the two Image books he has out this week, but it's not MANHATTAN PROJECTS, though that's a pretty good series too. No, I'd recommend EAST OF WEST 14, what a great series that is. Hope this answer wasn't just really confusing!"

Uncanny Avengers 22
Boy, but I like the the AVENGERS titles far more than the X-titles right now. This is a shift from the last full batch of X-MEN titles vs. AVENGERS titles (not to be confused with the event AVX) and I think we all know the culprit on that one. Anyway, UNCANNY AVENGERS has remained very engaging and very interesting and I expect it to stay that way as we start to wind towards a conclusion of this massive arc.

X-Men 17
I bet I threw you off with the last entry, hyping the AVENGERS books over the X-MEN books. Still, Brian Wood's X-MEN and Si Spurrier's X-FORCE are certainly books worth a look (particularly X-FORCE, which is worth more than just a look). I find X-MEN to be a pretty interesting read every time it comes out, though it benefits this week from an iffy release schedule and my laziness to go back and write in AVENGERS, CYCLOPS, or IRON PATRIOT blurbs.

Uncanny Avengers 21, New Avengers 20, New Avengers Annual 1

Uncanny Avengers 21
Remender (w) and Acuña (a) and White (c) and Cowles (l)

The remaining members of the Unity Squad return to the past, to the moments before the Apocalypse Twins' plans have been set in motion, to warn everyone and prepare themselves. They explain everything to everyone around and everyone offers their powers to Rogue, who charges to stop Exitar the Executioner with the help of a marginally convinced (though totally crazy) Sentry while Wolverine, Sunfire, and Havok destroy the tachyon dam in the present, leaving Thor to use Jarnbjorn on Exitar. With everything coming up Avengers, Kang and his team descend and, of course, stab everyone in the back, with his team going to corral the powerless Avengers and with Kang himself throwing Thor into the dying Celestial while he drinks of the Celestial's blood and essence, deeming himself conqueror of the universe.

Here's the thing that you ALWAYS have to keep in mind about Kang: one of his very first appearances (as Kang, not Rama-Tut or whoever else he may have appeared as) found him locked into a deadly game with Grandmaster, an elder of the universe, where he convinced his enemies the Avengers to help him so he could save the life of his love Ravonna. When they helped him and eventually won, Grandmaster basically said "alright, well, you have the wish of life or death, do you want me to save that Princess that's totes locked in a jar?" and Kang, HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE AVENGERS RISKING THEIR LIVES TO HELP HIM, went "Actually, no, kill the Avengers for me, would you?" That's who Kang is. What Remender has done here is tell a really interesting story that, with the last second reveal, makes you understand just how long and risky of a con this was for Kang and also makes you remember that moment early in Kang's history and go "oh, that's right, no one should trust that guy EVER." This is a really enjoyable read, both for how quickly things seem to go right when the Avengers set their mind to it and for the fun dialogue (Wolverine's in particular, as he refers to Wonder Man as "Hollywood" and literally says the phrase "I ain't got no such compunction"). It also turns out to be quite a story and now, a book that has spent about 20 issues getting to this point, teases that the next issue is the conclusion of this arc, right as Kang takes the power of the gods and declares himself the conqueror of the universe.

Total Score: 5/5


New Avengers 20
Hickman (w) and Schiti (a) and F. Martin and Mounts (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Illuminati and the Great Society find themselves locked in combat with the Illuminati apparently at disadvantage. As Dr. Spectrum goes to find the bomb with Black Bolt in pursuit, the other Illuminati members fall one-by-one (except Black Panther, who is in a stalemate and is just AWESOME) until finally Dr. Strange reveals just how much he's let his soul go as he unleashes dark magic and singlehandedly stops the Great Society.

This issue moves really well and has the weight that we've come to expect from NEW AVENGERS throughout Hickman's run. Better still is how interestingly Hickman writes both Dr. Strange (who we haven't seen a TON from since the start of this series) and Black Panther (who we've seen enough from to know how well Hickman writes him). Also impressive is how well these Great Society characters seem to be fleshed out, even if their past isn't really seen in the comics. You actually believe that these people had lives before Hickman brought them into being just a few issues ago which is kind of rare for characters like them. They're well-developed and Hickman didn't even have to spend much time on exposition for them; instead, the book moves quickly and we understand the fight really well. Strong issue.

Total Score: 5/5


New Avengers Annual 1
Barbiere (w) and Rudy (a and c) and Caramagna (l)

In the time between, presumably, when Dr. Strange sold his soul for power and the NEW AVENGERS present, Strange was called to his Tibetan Mountains to help his old teachers rid a new and very powerful student of a demon who has latched on to her. As we get flashbacks from Strange to the first patient he lost thanks to his hubris, the doctor and the demon battle. Though the demon is immensely powerful, Strange uses dark magic to keep him down and brings the demon into himself rather than killing the girl to whom it's attached. The demon has no chance within Strange, which Strange knew when he took the demon in. The monks forbid him from returning, asking who he is now to which he replies that he is the doctor.

The story, particularly for an annual (the quality of which often varies), is very compelling and Marco Rudy's art, as it was in MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN, is just outstanding and absolutely perfect for this book. While Frank Barbiere tells an interesting story that weaves between the past and the present and reveals much about the proud Doctor Strange pre-Sorceror Supreme and post-Soul Seller, Marco Rudy illustrates incredible battles and emotions and even incredible still moments. Just wonderful, wonderful stuff. On the Nerdist Writer's Panel: Comics Edition podcast, I've heard plenty of times that everyone has a Dr. Strange pitch but almost no one has one that would work for Marvel in the longterm. I guess I can't speak for the longterm but this one worked really well for me on this issue. Check it out, you guys.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Hey bros and ladybros, we have a pretty big slate of comics this week because the universe hates me! Let's call out this week's top recommended books in our weekly pre-game.

Amazing Spider-Man 3
Slott has jumped right back into the swing of things (HA, how many times has that pun been used overall for Spider-Man or other superheroes, really, do we think? I'd put the over-under at 2,500) and this book feels rejuvenated for it. Been fun so far, looking for that fun to continue.

Ms. Marvel 5
If you're not reading this book yet, you should probably get on the bandwagon while there's still room. Seriously. Bandwagons aren't really known for their size, mostly for their propensity for heading towards things that people like. ANYWAY, it's been a fun book and, if Jamie McKelvie's covers are to be believed, young Kamala Khan is headed on a collision course with the rest of the Marvel Universe sooner rather than later.

New Warriors 6
This was VERY NEARLY replaced on this list by NEW AVENGERS 20 but I didn't want to have to write "SERIOUSLY, they're gonna fight those dudes at SOME POINT" a third time so instead, I'm choosing NEW WARRIORS, a book that deserves to have a little light shed on it. This book has had a really interesting mix of voices and I'm looking forward to seeing where these characters take us. So far, we have three choices that are a bit against the grain in that they're all what I'd describe as genuinely fun books. WILL THE TREND CONTINUE? NOPE.

Uncanny Avengers 21
Rick Remender's epic story continues as the remaining Unity Avengers prepare to "trust" Kang and travel back to the past to save the rest of their team. Can they manage it? What will become of the timeline they've grown to know and, perhaps most importantly, what will become of little Katie Summers? STORY ABOUND.

X-Force 6
If you even TRY to tell me you're not reading this book I'll be of a mind to slap you. Spurrier has brought his typical heady but extraordinarily fun style to this book about the world's covert mutant good guys and it's fired on every cylinder so far. Really enjoying this book. It's always refreshing to have a book for which you have high hopes actually meet or exceed those expectations. LOOK NO FURTHER, this book is GREAT.

This week's picks* and apologies

Hey everyone, sorry the last few days have been a little busy and found me far from a computer or from some new comic releases. Though it's rare that this is the case, I actually couldn't get my hands on a few new books in time for my release schedule (SHE-HULK, DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, and ALL-NEW ULTIMATES) so I ended up not reviewing them (or ALL-NEW INVADERS, because I didn't want to just have a standalone review for that one because I'm a little OCD). I'll get to them in the coming days. Therefore, this week's "this week's picks" is a little lackluster because we may have some additions once I've actually read them all and, you know, also because it's a gorgeous day outside and you should all go celebrate Father's Day or simply gorgeous days. Hopefully it's gorgeous where you are and you weren't banking on this being a giant post to really gorge yourself on (though it's certainly shaping up that way despite my intentions). ALSO, what's the deal with the page boost spike yesterday? I didn't post anything yesterday, you guys! I'm *this* close to being a little hurt by that.


Avengers Undercover 5

There are some GOOD Madam Masque's
being written these days.

I'm really liking the vibe of this book right now and I think Hopeless is setting it up well to really kill as we move forward.


















New Avengers 19

Why does my shortest post have full
page screen grabs? Because I'm GREAT

Just another classic NEW AVENGERS hard-to-read-because-who-is-really-in-the-right-in-this-book kind of issue. My love for this book has slowed somewhat from its crazy and cinematic start but it's still certainly a consistently fantastic book.
















Hawkeye 1-18

From my own collection!

AH HA, GOTCHA, in lieu of a third book (it probably would have just been CAPTAIN MARVEL anyway) I'm fully recommending you go out and read or re-read all of the current HAWKEYE series again. I did it over the last day and BOY it's well worth it. All of the praise you've read for this book is well-deserved.

Original Sins 1, New Avengers 19

Original Sins 1
Deathlok: Edmondson (w) and Perkins (a) and Troy (c) and Cowles (l)
Young Avengers: North (w) and Villalobos (a) and Gibson (c) and Cowles (l)
Lockjaw: S. Moore (w) and Geary (a) and Svorcina (c) and Cowles (l)

Three stories to kick off our ORIGINAL SIN tie-in book which here is two-thirds ORIGINAL SIN tie-in and one third promotional. The first third is the promotional, with a short story by Nathan Edmondson (BLACK WIDOW, PUNISHER) and Mike Perkins (CAPTAIN AMERICA, UNION JACK) featuring Henry Hayes, a new Deathlok, unbeknownst to Hayes. Seemingly leaping right out of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Hayes is war vet with bionic parts and who is, on occasion, mind controlled to execute missions at the behest of his handlers, whereafter he is dumped back where he started with no memory of the mission. He has just such a mission when a SHIELD agent approaches him in a train station and tells him that he's Deathlok, as was revealed to him by the Watcher's truth-bomb. As the SHIELD agent leaves, Hayes' handlers send Deathlok to execute the man. Though there is a clear tie-in to ORIGINAL SIN, the key of this book is building excitement for October's DEATHLOK, also written by Edmondson and illustrated by Perkins. It's not an awful test-run and it's certainly an easy enough premise to kick things off. Right now, Edmondson can do no wrong by me so let's hope that even a series spawned by (though with no connection to) a show I find almost entirely boring will separate itself the way BLACK WIDOW and PUNISHER have.

The second story finds three members of the Young Avengers, Hulkling, Noh-Varr, and Prodigy, teaming up to investigate what's happening in Manhattan. When Hulkling sees footage from the fight and recognizes Exterminatrix in the middle of it, he gets Prodigy to hijack Noh-Varr's shuttle so it will pick them up and bring them to their friend (who isn't leaving his space station home and also isn't picking up his phone). They convince him to come along and, in the course of their investigation, they run into a somehow un-evacuated woman being held hostage by the Hood, who needs the help of these three Young Avengers. Ryan North, who writes MIDAS FLESH and ADVENTURE TIME for BOOM! Studios and has countless other adventures in comics and other text (like his great Dinosaur Comics or like the choose-your-own-adventure Hamlet or his upcoming choose-your-own-adventure Romeo and Juliet), brings his usual playfulness and fun, natural, conversational style of writing to this project and it really works for the Young Avengers. Looking forward to where this goes.

Finally, Stuart Moore and Rick Geary bring us a short tale of Lockjaw uncovering a secret from the Watcher's truth treasure trove and, after trying a number of other heroes, conveying the importance of said secret to Iron Man, who accompanies him to the moon where he digs up a bone he'd left there. Fun little story which must have given a slight break from all those gorgeous painted THOR interiors to Eisner-nominated colorist Ive Svorcina.

Total Score: 4/5


New Avengers 19
Hickman (w) and Schiti (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Illuminati travel to Earth-4,290,001, the home of the Great Society (Boundless, Dr. Spectrum, Sun God, The Rider, The Jovian, and The Norn) to discuss what's coming. They reveal that they have a doomsday device, something capable of destroying a world, but would much rather not have to use it. While they argue about how they would use such a device (in the case they can't figure something out, one world has to be destroyed to save the other world and to save both universes; the incursion going off as planned would mean the end of both worlds and both universes), Maximus runs some experiments on the frozen Corvus Glaive, locked away with his master Thanos. Back on Earth-4,290,001, the Illuminati try to justify their actions to the Great Society and continue to ask for help coming up with a way to save both worlds before they have to move on to worst-case scenarios but Namor, tired of the indecision, attacks The Rider, prepared to be what the incursion will make them all and provoking a fight between the two once-heroic groups.

One of the things I'd been saying since the start of this series was that NEW AVENGERS feels like a movie or a television show (its presentation, particularly at the beginning, felt more like gorgeous cinema but its episodic nature makes it more like a television show) and it seems to be sticking with that feeling. Hickman knows how to write scenes and how to present them and the artists attached to this book (including series colorist Frank Martin) really know how to make everything feel big and grand. In this issue (as in the last several) we get a number of recent flashbacks that add context and weight to the actions of the present while also allowing us to move on with the story in a way that maybe isn't so dry or straightforward. Some of those flashbacks involve Bruce and Hank talking about morality and the choices they face, Reed talking with Black Swan about the things they can do to help push forward, and Tony telling Reed that Cap knows and soon the most powerful Avengers team ever assembled will be coming for them. It's a strong story and the flashbacks allow the book an opportunity to remind you just how many threads are still out there and how intricate this situation is. I've also been looking for a way to plug this some more and so, while it's only tangentially related, it feels as big and grand, at times (though not always so gripping), as Hickman's EAST OF WEST, which is an absolutely phenomenal book I can't recommend enough. Val Schiti does the art on this issue and really brings great emotion to the characters, from hubris to fear to arrogance to sadness to resignation (guys, most of those descriptions are just for Namor).

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week 6-11-14

Where last week was one of the weeks I categorized as an embarrassment of riches, something that could snap someone out of a comic-reading funk, this may go somewhat the opposite direction. Here's hoping it's not. Even if it is, though, here are my picks for what to look for to pull you back out again.

Avengers Undercover 5
We seem primed to get into the meat of the story as our heroes, fresh off an annihilation of Arcade, have been brought back to Baron Zemo and his new Masters of Evil (relative term, he swears). Who will embrace this new life? Who will turn away? How will each of those parties do such a thing? We're ready to find out.

Captain Marvel 4
Things are starting to come together in this new volume as Carol goes up against a problem she can't punch away, a problem she'll have to solve with her mind and her diplomacy and her patience (something she maybe doesn't have enough of). Should be an interesting look at a superhero trying to be heroic without a clear villain to smite.

New Avengers 19
Okay, the last one was maybe a bit of a fake out, even if it was pretty swell. THIS TIME OUT we should see their fight against another world, one that's just as virtuous if not more virtuous than they are, firmly casting these would-be heroes into a shady and dark role, one that Captain America envisioned back when he was sent off the team.

Original Sins 1
This limited run tie-in book to ORIGINAL SIN promises to be an of the anthology sort of book, one that will catalogue several stories, none really running throughout the series, aside from the Marvel debut of writer Ryan North telling a story with Ramon Villalobos about the Young Avengers which will run the course of the series in small chunks. I'm very interested in this story and almost more interested in how I'm going to review an anthology sort of book.

She-Hulk 5
Charles Soule and Javier Pulido have, in their short time together, crafted a really nice world for Jen Walters and have made this book feel fresh and fun, different from anything else out there. Now Ron Wemberly steps in on art as She-Hulk investigates the mysterious blue file that has something to do with her specifically, along with a few pals and enemies.

This week's picks

Hey all my buddies! Sorry for all of those SUPER QUICK REVIEWS this week. GUYS, why did I say "sorry?" It was probably better for EVERYONE. I'm still planning to do full reviews for a number of books but, as I intimated earlier this week, I may do these more often (unless, and this is a pretty big unless potential investors, someone starts paying me for this blog). But THAT'S not what the Sunday post is for. The Sunday post is for BEST OF. So what was the best of this week? Well I'd certainly recommend the following.

Avengers 29

Am I still a little sore that this book was $4.99? And that this extra dollar came from an extra ten pages plenty of readers have already read or that could have been covered in maybe an extra page-long recap? Yes. Duh. I just mentioned it all, clearly I've been thinking about it. THAT SAID, I do really love this issue. Jonathan Hickman has two AVENGERS books in a row that feature key Avengers members (one of the original Avengers and one of the "IT ONLY TOOK ME FOUR ISSUES TO GET HERE TOO" Avengers) discovering something about other key member Tony Stark and wanting rip him apart for it. Unlike the last one, which sort of disperses as Banner agrees reluctantly to join up with the world-saving and not kill the Illuminati (yet), Cap won't be so easily swayed. It's wonderful and incredibly tense, somehow managing to be tense despite being a different version of AVENGERS 28. Lots of fun if you find remarkably tense moments between dudes who were friends but also have been pretty bitter enemies PERHAPS a bit more recently "fun." I do. Check it out.

Captain America 20

This one was a tough choice (and probably my Cap bias is out in full here) between, particularly, this one, CAPTAIN MARVEL, NEW AVENGERS, and AVENGERS UNDERCOVER. This one ultimately wins out because Rick Remender has made it his mission this whole series to break Steve Rogers in every way possible and BOY does it come out in force here. If you're looking around going "geez, I think superheroes at Marvel don't get beat up enough," you will love this book. I'm...I'm not sure anyone should be looking for that? But if the idea doesn't turn you off, you should check this book out. You should probably check it out anyway. Remender's doing astonishing stuff breaking down the most unbreakable character in this modern day Job-like story. But also with punching and superheroes and world-level threats.

X-Force 5

Si Spurrier is regularly putting out really thought-provoking, human books even as he puts people up against incredibly powerful or even ridiculous villains (Spurrier recognizes in the book that Volga is crazily over-the-top but he's not really who we care about). X-FORCE is just another in a line of phenomenal releases from Spurrier (even outside of his Marvel work) that make you really care about the characters and that keep you aware of who everyone is and what everyone's going through at all times. This is very heavily a Marrow-centric issue but it's impossible to not acknowledge what's happening with Cable and with Psylocke and with Fantomex. It's excellently done and it's, to this point, everything I want this series to be.

Avengers 29, New Avengers 18, Secret Avengers 3

Avengers 29
Hickman (w) and Yu (p) and Alanguilan (i) and Gho (c) and Petit (l)

Steve Rogers has been having bad dreams but they've gotten clearer. Suddenly he remembers his time with the Illuminati and the way in which they parted. Furious, he grabs Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Thor, who subsequently grabs Starbrand and Hyperion, and the team of core Avengers and muscle confront Tony in his lab. Steve accuses him of all of his sins and it pretty quickly comes to blows as Tony regrets nothing about fighting to save the world through whatever means necessary and has a whole ton of suits with him. It's a bitter and brutal fight but it's ended abruptly (for now) when the time gem, the only one of the Infinity gems that didn't shatter right away (BECAUSE IT'S TIME, GUYS), appears and shatters in Cap's hand, sending the story to 48 years in the future.

Story
This is the one we've been waiting for since Tony ordered Steve's memories wiped way back in NEW AVENGERS 3 and everything's fallen nicely into place for Hickman and company. The story is appropriately dark and tense and it's impossible not to be impressed by how well Hickman has crafted his Tony Stark. Stark has never been above doing whatever it takes to do what he thinks is right but it's all come into focus here as the last two issues of AVENGERS (coming nearly thirty issues into a book that started by casting Steve as life and Tony as death) have found longtime associates of Tony accusing him of unthinkable crimes only to discover that they're entirely correct. Tony manages to convince one but not the other and, unfortunately for him, the other rather commands respect from just about everyone, including Thor, Hyperion, and Starbrand. Not really the best guy to go up against. 5/5

Character
This is very much meant to be a turning point moment for AVENGERS as it will fundamentally shake the two real leaders of Hickman's team. As such, it rather has to be a big moment for character and it certainly works out that way as we see the rage building in Steve and his swift decisiveness, immediately calling on Black Widow and Hawkeye as well as Thor. It's also worth noting that character is often built just as much on how other characters perceive someone and the fact that he can turn to this set of core Avengers and immediately have them trust him enough to storm their friend and fellow hero's home speaks volumes about both Cap and Tony. It's really brilliantly executed and enormously important. 5/5

Writing
I've pretty much covered this already, though I'll add that the tone of this book, as with the tone of the last issue, is that perfect blend of darkness and increasing hostility that this story absolutely needs. This will also tie to Yu and Gho's art and colors in the book but it comes first and foremost from the writing. 5/5

Art
Pretty much already said it all above but Yu, Alanguilan, and Gho capture the dark tone and the anger as well as anything Hickman wrote. Really strong work to tie everything nicely here. 5/5

Miscellaneous
The first ten pages of this issue or so are taken directly from NEW AVENGERS and serve as a really good point to get into this issue. On top of that, the book is an extra ten pages long to make up for the summary. Still, I continue to question Marvel's pricing as this one jumps up a dollar to $4.99, a disturbing trend recently. I understand that a bigger book means more cost to Marvel but I steadfastly maintain that keeping the price $3.99 does far more to gain readers/keep readers and to keep readers from getting skeptical and cynical about your prices while still not, I would think, bankrupting your company. Also, you're now forcing people who already know what's going on to pay an extra dollar to get recap they already have. This book itself is really good (and will get the score it merits on that alone) but it's another example in a worrying trend from Marvel.

Total score: 5/5


New Avengers 18
Hickman (w) and Schiti (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

With a very short time before the Illuminati know they'll have to face another world, this one populated with innocents and heroes alike, it's time for some serious soul-searching. T'Challa seeks and receives counsel from the dead kings of Wakanda who allow him his moment of sadness and heavy-heartedness before reminding him that the very act of keeping Wakanda so secluded has cost many innocents in the outside world their lives, that the kings of Wakanda (or any place) have always been beyond these sorts of decisions, and that he needs to do what is best for Wakanda. Meanwhile, Beast shows Banner around their antimatter bombs, a powered-up and soulless Stephen Strange returns to the Illuminati, and Stark and Reed confront Black Swan in the hopes she has more information for them. By issue's end, though, it's time for the Illuminati to square off against heroes.

Story
It's fitting that this issue and this arc comes out alongside the current AVENGERS storyline (certainly, you guys, that's not by mistake) as it's the first time that the Illuminati are tested in exactly the sort of way Cap feared they would be when he "left" the team. Now, as Cap returns to dole out some justice on Tony over in AVENGERS, the Illuminati has to deal with a world populated by real people and real heroes alike in order to keep their own world alive. Will the most heroic among these men falter? The question is asked here and, though it puts off seeing the actual fight we're waiting for until next time, it's given the room linger for an issue, allowing the audience to understand just what everyone's going through. As this is a book driven by these consequences, it's important to give this fight the space it needs to really breathe. 5/5

Character
The characters are al highlighted by how troubled they are to enter into this fight. For T'Challa, that means his ongoing struggle to do what's right by his own moral code while also protecting and upholding Wakanda. Panther has always been a great character for seeing that sort of struggle and it's at a fever pitch right now. Tony Stark is the same way, though his feelings come out through anger and frustration where T'Challa's really border on abject sadness. Also worth seeing the characters who aren't seemingly struggling with this, including a somewhat-repowered Black Bolt, Namor, and Stephen Strange. Next issue should show us a lot. 5/5

Writing
Hickman's writing continues to be very strong and, as with AVENGERS, you can see the strengths of his long game all through these issues (long con). He has spent over a year building these stories and now it's all coming together wonderfully. He's also doing a solid job developing the tone really switching back and forth between all of the various emotions that the team is feeling. 5/5

Art
The talented Valerio Schiti steps in to provide the art for this issue and, while I quite like Schiti's art, I'm not sure it totally works here. It's at its strongest in this issue on the various emotions, particularly when we see Black Panther with his council, but it occasionally feels too clean for the dark things that are happening. Schiti is helped tremendously by Frank Martin's colors, which set up the tone really well, but it's hard not to feel like Schiti might have been a bit of a strange choice on this one. 4/5

Miscellaneous
Extra points here to Christian Ward's unbelievable variant cover (at right).

Total score: 5/5


Secret Avengers 3
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

A deranged poet has built a superbomb and is planning to sell it on the island nation of Sokotra, possibly to Latverians. Hill sends Coulson, Black Widow, and Spider-Woman to the scene to try to capture the bomb and dispose of the poet while Fury and Hawkeye go on a different mission. Things start to break down in Sokotra as Coulson experiences a bit of PTSD from his recent mission and as Black Widow has to learn to trust her colleagues to do what they do. She covers Coulson while he snaps out of it and Spider-Woman attacks the poet, managing to subdue him and talk the superbomb out of committing suicide (yes, the superbomb talks and thinks). While Black Widow wonders if this isn't all a weird set-up (there appears to be no buyer for the bomb present after all), Lady Bullseye turns up and attacks before Coulson drives her off a cliff after hitting her with a jeep. They begin to return home as we learn that Fury and Hawkeye's mission is to go out and find and capture the Fury, who Fury and Coulson managed to dispatch in the last issue.

Story
Pretty standard story here as part of the team is sent to stop an arms deal that could put a devastating weapon in the hands of enemies (or of anyone, really) and part of the team, separated from the others, is sent to do something shady for SHIELD. Coulson's PTSD seems a bit forced as, although he only first appeared a few years ago in BATTLE SCARS, he's touted to be this big super agent who has had his hands in plenty of soups up to this point. Not to say his PTSD isn't warranted, it just kind of feels like it's here to develop Natasha more, who is forced to figure out what to do in this situation. Also, though the story is pretty standard, that doesn't mean it also doesn't feel a bit forced, particularly the criminal mastermind poet bit. 3/5

Character
The two biggest complaints I have about this issue's characters are that Kot is set on doing the somewhat standard Black Widow-team-writer thing of making her a cold and relentless killing machine, someone who revels in murder as much as any supervillain. I've always felt the best Natashas are the ones who don't get hung up on the killing but also aren't exactly licking their lips while they think of how best to kill someone. Here, she's absolutely flippant about murder and I think it weakens who she is. Kot is also set on making Hawkeye something of a twelve-year-old, which I think is a cue taken from Fraction's Hawkeye. The difference is that Fraction shows us all sides of Hawkeye; he's immature, sure, but he's also a guy with a dark past just trying to do what's right in whatever way seems best. Here, he's little more than comic relief and something of an audience stand-in, apparently needing explanation of what the team does because he's too dumb to understand it any other way, despite the fact that he recently ran his own Secret Avengers team so probably he's not too unfamiliar with it. It feels very much like it's trying way too hard on a lot of fronts, more of which we'll get into in the next section. 2/5

Writing
It's trying way too hard on a lot of fronts. I talked in the review of the first issue (and the second issue) about how Kot himself has called the tone of this book something akin to Breaking Bad, a Michael Bay movie, and Arrested Development. I think that all of those tones are coming at the expense of the overall quality of the book which feels like it's trying just so very hard to be different or to challenge common comic book conceptions. There's a poet screaming about Mailer and Plath as he prepares to detonate a reality ending bomb, there's a mention of Scarlett Johansson playing Black Widow in one of the inane introductory captions, and there's a page of the book dedicated to Natasha playing a weird text adventure sort of game in her mind as she decides how best to proceed, meaning that Natasha's mind is working in precisely the last way anyone would expect it to. I'm going to stop harping on this book trying too hard now because, in finding those links above, I looked at my last two reviews and saw that I'm just repeating myself OVER AND OVER AGAIN so I'm going to let you all assume what I'm saying. 1/5

Art
In case you missed it, I don't like the tone of this book and I don't like how hard this book is trying but I will say that the art is doing its job to keep up with whatever tone Kot wants to put forward. Though I'm not onboard with the book so far, I think the art is doing everything it can to make it palatable. Credit to Michael Walsh and Matt Wilson for doing some strong work to keep this book moving. 5/5

Miscellaneous
As with everything, this is all just based on my personal opinion as well as whatever technical knowledge I've gained throughout my life (that's why I tend to focus so much more on writing aspects than art aspects; I'm far more experienced with writing than with art). Maybe this book is working for you. For me, though, I tend to get super skeptical and cynical when you can smell a book trying too hard and this is nailing that (I thought FEARLESS DEFENDERS was doing it too but I was more willing to forgive that on some levels because it was at least doing it with C-list characters).

Total score: 2/5

Comics this week

Hey there everybody, pretty standard release week this week as, by my possibly inaccurate count, fifteen new titles will be released. Let's get right into it.

Avengers Undercover 4
I think this series is headed for some interesting places considering the sorts of things Hopeless is setting up and the sorts of things he already did in AVENGERS ARENA. It's been exciting so far to come back to that little corner of the world with the memories of it not so faded and to see where our characters are primed to go next.

Captain Marvel 3
The new start to this series has given some opportunity for some really intriguing changes and to explore a whole different side of Carol (not to mention for her to explore a whole different side as she continues to work around her lost memories). I don't think the series has been at its strongest yet but we all know what it's capable of.

Iron Man 25
I've liked what Gillen has done on IRON MAN over the past two years and I think this Mandarin's rings storyline that has pitted him against Malekith, of all characters, is intriguing in its own right, let alone all of the surrounding story. I also feel I maybe haven't shined enough of a spotlight on this one for being just a really interesting and often fun book for a solid 24 issues. Also, I didn't want to pick AVENGERS because it's 4.99 this week and I'm getting more and more critical of that as it keeps happening.

New Avengers 18
The Illuminati, likely moving very soon into an ORIGINAL SIN tie-in, is currently set to face an incursion-defeating world as two teams with solid incursion records square off for the first time in this book. See, who says that sports and comics can't be simpatico?

X-Force 5
After last issue's crazy narrative and the whole series' real dedication to developing its extremely interesting characters, everyone should be interested to see where X-FORCE plans to go next. There's nothing stronger than a book where we have such a personal view of the characters yet don't know the story nor the actual decisions a character might make. We have a good sense of who these guys are and what they think about and what this team means to them (some more than others at this point) but that certainly doesn't mean we know what they're capable of. Really excited about this book.

Avengers 28, New Avengers 17

Avengers 28
Hickman (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin w/Mossa (c) and Petit (l)

AIM has taken back the Avengers from another world, hoping to send them away because they seriously do not need two Avengers teams out there. However, the Banner that seemed to be the other world's Banner asks the Scientist Supreme why worlds are dying. With nothing to lose from this conversation, Forson admits that they believe the multiverse is dying and that Earth is the center point. It turns out that this Banner is actually our Banner, though, and he escapes AIM, doing a bunch of damage on the way out, before making his way to Avengers Tower. He interrogates Tony and, with a smart line of questioning, realizes what's been happening and realizes that Tony has re-formed the Illuminati, the same Illuminati that launched Hulk into space so long ago. Banner pumps himself full of tranquilizers to keep from hulking out while Tony explains and while Tony invites him to join the team, which he reluctantly does, understanding how big the threat is. Tony hands off the other universe's Banner to SHIELD and the Avengers, who are looking to dole out punishment for attacking the Avengers and Avengers Tower, and the Illuminati meets its newest member. OH, and also the Adapoids that went out to explore the multiverse meet up with the Mapmakers and it turns out that they're all one and the same.

Story
Really great story here as Hickman preps for ORIGINAL SIN and props up his amazing NEW AVENGERS work with a new and crucial addition to the team. It's a wonderful idea, putting the worldbreaker Hulk and the genius scientist Banner into this situation wherein worlds may need to be broken if science can't answer these questions. On top of that, it's executed perfectly; there's plenty of time at the beginning where you don't know if Banner is our Banner or the other universe's and we figure out definitively that it's ours just as the other drama of the plot, the idea that Banner has figured everything out, is coming to the head of the story. It's extremely well done and it's a huge step for this series and for NEW AVENGERS. Plus, as if Cap wasn't going to be mad ENOUGH at Tony and crew for wiping his memories when he finds out in ORIGINAL SIN, he's now had an innocent(ish) Bruce Banner handed to him in lieu of the real deal. 5/5

Character
AVENGERS hasn't had a ton of room for character because the plots have been so sweeping and the team has been so big. It's nice to have an issue that pulls back to just two major characters to give us a better look at those two guys and BOY what a great look it is. It's Banner at his most tense, a perfect portrait of someone right on the brink of hulking out with one false step, and it's Tony at his most duplicitous and covert, the weapons maker returned. It's incredibly tense and it's incredibly well-crafted, two could-be/have-been allies in a conversation that could turn them into quick enemies, another thing they have been. It's a dynamic built on decades of discontent and it's perfect. 5/5

Writing
This is one of those issues whose writing score is based on the perfect execution of story and character more than any one thing in the dialogue. That's not to say the dialogue isn't sharp. In fact, the dialogue is extremely well-balanced as the audience knows Tony is hiding something and Banner is pretty sure Tony is hiding something all while we're not sure if Banner is Banner and as we and Tony try to figure out what's in the case. There's so much happening here and it's all done in service to the tone, which, in turn, builds our story and our character. It's all a circle and it all feeds itself. 5/5

Art
I often have issues with Salvador Larroca's art but he does solid work here. Larroca uses a mix of close-ups and wide shots to help establish the tone as two people snipe back and forth trying to outwit one another. I don't know that it's the best possible art for this book but that way madness lies so we're not going to worry about that. In this case, it works perfectly well. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I've been back and forth on this AVENGERS series for a while. It's largely good but sometimes the long con style game Hickman and company tend to play makes it a little harder to get into as a whole series. When it's said and done, though, I think this series will read extremely well as one long volume. Solid work here and BOY was this issue good.

Total score: 5/5


New Avengers 17
Hickman (w) and Morales (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

Namor and T'Challa continue to watch Earth-4290001 to learn how they deal with their incursion. With the help of the Norn, they've defeated the incurring world but not before four Mapmakers land on their planet. Their hero Boundless manages to destroy the AI of one but is stopped before she can damage the rest but their leader Sun God, warning everyone to take cover under Dr. Spectrum's shielding, unleashes his full power and destroys the others. T'Challa and Namor watch as the heroes, all surviving the fight recover a bit until they realize that another incursion is already underway. Namor steps away from the screen to have a drink, complaining that it seems an unwinnable scenario; they're up against not just incurring planets but the Mapmakers, the Black Priests, and the Ivory Kings. He jokes darkly about their chances and he and T'Challa have some real talk about hope and honor and nobility and share a laugh about their survival before T'Challa is pulled back to the screen to find that, in two hours time (thanks to the window's strange effect on time), the world incurring on Earth-4290001 is their own Earth.

Story
Hickman's created an interesting batch of characters from this alternate Earth and, though we can't care about them in the same way we care about characters we've known for decades, it's hard not to root for them. They're pointedly the opposite of our heroes; they're still fighting the incursions and they still hope to see their Earth win but they refuse to give up hope that this is unwinnable. Sun God himself kicked off their mission by saying "Everything lives" in the same way that Reed Richards continues to say "Everything dies." So it's hope against despair as the theme here, even as T'Challa and Namor discuss it as two kings with no kingdoms. Solid story and quite a cliffhanger. 5/5

Character
The Namor-Black Panther dynamic has been one of the more interesting stories in this book all the way around. From the time this series kicked off, Atlantis and Wakanda have been at war with one another, putting their champions at odds even as they're forced to work together for the survival of the world. It's also worth pointing out that we are rather rooting for Earth-4290001's champions despite their relative obscurity, to the credit of Hickman. 5/5

Writing
The hope/despair theme prevails and plays well as Hickman particularly focuses us on Namor, a character for whom the difference between himself and everyone else is hope. It's a great tool and it's explored really well here as Namor keeps up his personality even against T'Challa, his equal in power but someone who fights because he has hope, among other reasons. It's smart writing. 5/5

Art
Rags Morales has some really incredible art and the expressiveness and the emotion of these characters really stands out in these particularly emotional times. An artist who wasn't as capable of showing the minute emotional turns of these two pretty calculated characters, even if they did better action or something (which is just an example, by the way, I think Morales' action has been pretty cool so far), wouldn't be nearly as successful. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I should have seen the twist at the end coming and I didn't and it still made me go "ohhhhhhhhhhhh wowwwwwwwww."

Total score: 5/5